- Paperback: 396 pages
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P; Reissue edition (May 1989)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0156584468
- ISBN-13: 978-0156584463
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.9 x 2.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 514,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
"Language is the most important of all the instruments of civilization." The authors state this premise boldly in their preface to "The Meaning of Meaning," a classic work whose significance--and challenge--to the study of language, literature, and philosophy has remained undiminished since its original publication.
Much about language continues to be only hazily understood, distorted by our habitual attitude--often one of indifference--toward words, or by lingering assumptions based on discredited theories. What IS the relationship between words and what the words refer to? Between words and the way we think? Can understanding such matters lead to greater precision in communication? Readers considering these questions find themselves at the crossroads of linguistics and communications theory, of literary criticism and philosophy--an interdisciplinary nexus claimed by the increasingly influential field of semiotics--and "The Meaning of Meaning" will prove, as it has over the last six decades, an essential resource.
In his introduction Umberto Eco, emininent novelist and, not coincidentally, semiotician, provides a fascinating perspective on this pioneering work that continues to disturb intellectual complacency and provoke thought and discussion.
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2 reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Provocative study of language
30 April 2010
Format:Paperback
I read this book years ago when I was really into this area. Very good and thought provoking discussion of ideas and problem we rarely think about, although we use language every day.
14 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Dated but still very relevant
29 Mar 2006
Format:Paperback
I first encountered reference to this book when reading about the semantic web. The key innovation was the "semiotic triangle" where we are encouraged to think of things, thoughts and symbols in separate and distinct domains. I now use the "semantic triangle" (a more approachable name) in many of my semantic web training classes. The key concept to get across to students is that when computers need to communicate, there are many limitations when using symbols alone, which can have many different meaning within different contexts. For example the word "run" has over 50 different meanings according to WordNet. A more robust way to exchange information between computers is to associate data elements with concepts. This books was one of the first books to build these models of communication.
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